Following her own wedding in Venice, Sara Scarpa offers some advice on the dos and don’ts of tying the knot in the City of Love. Photos by Iain Reid For me there is no better place to take your vows than in beautiful Venice. A wedding in the magical atmosphere of this captivating city is […]
Tag: Culture
48 hours in: Ravenna
If you ever find yourself in Emilia-Romagna, Ravenna is an absolute must. It really is a treasure trove of art and culture, writes Sara Scarpa. Above me is depicted a dark blue sky full of golden stars.The many thousands of tiny mosaic tiles set in various inclinations seem to capture and cascade light onto anyone […]
Insider’s Rome: le Terme di Caracalla
Though they are named for the Emperor Caracalla, it was probably his father, Severus, who laid the plans for these huge baths… Most tourists come here by public transport, though the walk from the Forum takes you past a number of sites. Or, if you really liked walking, you could combine the trip with a […]
Lords of Lucca and Princes of Pesaro: opera and art in Le Marche and Tuscany
Two towns, two coastlines, two composers and both with rich, magnificent histories. Who are we talking about? Along the sandy beach of the Adriatic sits the town of Pesaro while near the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, encased by its fortified walls, lies Lucca. Every summer both towns come alive to the sound of opera. […]
A room with a view
Sally FitzGerald discovers Castello del Nero, the perfect Tuscan hideaway just off the road between Florence and Siena. When a hotel is voted as having ‘The Most Beautiful Bathroom in The World’ by Harper’s Bazaar, you head along with a certain level of expectation. The bathroom in question belongs to Castello del Nero, a 12th-century castello […]
Insider’s Rome: the Villa Borghese
Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1577-1633) was a patron of Bernini and Caravaggio. The Baroque legacy at his Villa is a wonder to behold… People are often surprised to learn that, at least as far as major European cities go, Rome actually has a very good green space to concrete ratio. It certainly doesn’t feel like that […]
The Worried Warhorse of Fénis Castle
When St George slayed the dragon and rescued the princess, he acted with fearlessness – but his brave horse was never quite so sure that the fight would be won. High in the Alps, in the far northwest of Italy, is the Valle d’Aosta, the smallest of Italy’s official regions, and the most lightly populated. […]
Viewpoint: Urbino, Le Marche
A recent snowfall accentuates the beauty of the walled city of Urbino, Le Marche. The World Heritage site is within easy reach of two lesser-known ski resorts… Most ski enthusiasts will be heading for the slopes of the Italian Alps or the Dolomites this winter, but those aren’t the only places you’ll find snow in […]
48 hours in: Cervinia
For guaranteed snow in Italy, this is the place to come. Penny Wainwright samples the delights of the Matterhorn from the Italian side… Breuil-Cervinia, a ski resort in the Valle d’Aosta, is two hours by coach from Turin. The road through the Valtournenche goes between mountains of bare rock with ancient monasteries seeming to grow […]
Gazetta Italia: the Royal Family
Italy has been a republic since the Second World War, yet interest in the British Royal Family shows no sign of waning. Tom Alberto Bull considers the nation’s obsession with the Windsors… La famiglia reale Il recente annuncio che il Duca e la Duchessa di Cambridge aspettano il terzo figlio è stato accolto positivamente in […]